Less than 24 hours later

So I went out around 10:30 am after reading various sources and removed the grass plugs. Then Mark said "I thought you were supposed to wait 24-48 hours?" and I got all nervous about it. But most sources said not to plug it that long. I called Bee Thinking and they said not to worry, don't plug it.
So I compromised - tonight ~5pm, I went out and partially plugged the entrance hole so they can get in and out. I checked the feeders and I wasn't sure they were working, 3 of the 4 seemed like they had a vacuum lock and when I turned them over and back the syrup came out the holes again. So I will check in another day to see if I need to fill them.

At 7:30 Mark and I went and watched for any activity but they all seem to be in the hive, the queen cage on the hive closest to our house is visible through a window but I can't tell if the queen has been released - I can't see the marshmallow but it's turned 90 degrees from my view. There isn't a window on the bottom box on the other hive.

Here's a video from this morning (ok it's rotated here but it isn't on my iPhone). It was warm today around 70 but getting cooler tonight, around 40, definitely cooler than last night. Rain is in the forecast. I will remove the queen cages on Wednesday night because Thursday I have hospice training.

The beginning of year 2

We picked up two 3# packages of Carniolan bees with two queens.
Got them hived as the sun set around 8pm. I got a bee under my veil who decided to sting me on my throat.
Put pollen packs on and 1:1 sugar syrup (sugar:water) in feeders above the top bars.
Went back to make sure the bee stragglers had moved in to the hive, I picked some up to put them on the ledge to the opening of the hive and got stung again! On my pinkie finger.

So just went back again around 10 pm and plugged the holes with grass.  A cluster of bees are outside the hive but that's just too bad at this point.

Here's hoping these hives work!!

Here is a picture of 3 combs which I removed and the pile of dead bees. This is the top box's contents - I had to pull combs in order to get the bees cleaned out from between the combs. They are very light and beautiful. I'm certain now though that they starved. There is NO honey at all. So sad. I refuse to see this happen again! When I rehive my new colonies, I will feed them vigorously until mid-June and I will feed them in the fall so they go into winter with lots of honey stores!!

Well, that's the hope anyway.